Since the invention of the automobile, there has been concern with the rear view available to a driver by means of mirrors. Various combinations of side view and rear view mirrors have been devised, with particular concern to a blind spot which exists in certain angular sections behind a vehicle. To minimize the blind spot, wide angle side view mirrors have been devised, particularly curved mirrors. It is known that parabolic mirrors, with variable curvature, can be particularly effective in reducing or eliminating blind spots thereby giving a driver a wide angle view of optics behind the vehicle.
Exemplary curved, or curved and planar, side view mirrors can be found in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,331,382; 5,793,542; 5,096,291, as well as in published applications 2003/0039039 and 2004/0114260. All of the curved or curved-planar mirrors shown in these patents are useful in eliminating the blind spot. Application 2004/0114260 teaches that a line can be marked on the reflective surface to distinguish between curved and planar regions of a curved-planar mirror.
With curved or partially curved side view mirrors alignment is more critical than with planar mirrors. With curved mirrors, portions of greatest curvature should not be wasted because a large viewing angle is available with these portions. Yet the seating position of a driver can lead to misalignments unless the curved side view mirrors are properly adjusted. An object of the invention was to provide an alignment apparatus for the curved side view mirrors of a vehicle.